What is it about?
Childbirth-related perineal trauma is the most common complication after vaginal childbirth, yet wound issues occur commonly. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis exploring use of prophylactic antibiotics to reduce the burden of perineal wound infection across all types of perineal trauma. When prophylactic antibiotics were compared to placebo for prevention of wound infection, there was a reduced rate of wound infection in those who received antibiotics after meta-analysis.
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Why is it important?
It is vital that we work to improve outcomes for women in the postnatal period. This work suggests a simple intervention that after further investigation, may help to reduce the burden of complications for huge numbers of women.
Perspectives
I feel strongly that postnatal care and more specifically care for women who have sustained perineal trauma is a vastly under-researched and neglected area of women's healthcare. This research is a small step towards improving care for a group of women for whom we urgently need to improve outcomes.
Rebecca Man
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Antibiotic prophylaxis for childbirth-related perineal trauma: A systematic review and meta-analysis, PLOS One, May 2025, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323267.
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